Good
by TVTime
Summary: Spoilers for 6B and the series finale. Theo goes to the hospital to protect Liam from the hunters and winds up learning a lesson about compassion. This unexpected act of kindness prompts Liam to open up to Theo.


**Good**

Theo drummed his fingers against the elevator door and clenched his jaw as the staccato pop of gunfire erupted two floors up. Dammit, he needed to get Liam _now._ He jabbed the third floor button and concentrated his hearing, searching for the familiar thump of Liam's heartbeat.

Warm relief with a cold edge of uncertainty washed over him as he found the reassurance he sought. Liam was alive, but his pulse was elevated and the muffled sound of hateful voices swirled around it. was telling Liam to run; he wanted to hunt him like a wild animal.

Theo snarled and opened his mouth to roar, to let Liam know he was coming, to let _Gabe_ know he was coming.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. And there he was – Liam staring down the barrel of Gabe's rifle. Two more hunters flanked the inexperienced killer, their guns poised, ready to take Liam out if Gabe missed.

Theo shut his mouth to keep his heart from lurching out of it.

Before the first bullet cracked, Theo had charged forward and wrapped his arms around Liam. He yanked him back into the safety of the elevator, and they split apart, lunging around opposite sides of the elevator doors as the hunters sprayed the metal enclosure with bullets. Another chime and the doors were sliding sht, bringing Theo and Liam a measure of temporary safety.

"Thanks," Liam said quietly, eyes averted.

Theo smirked at him. He didn't need to ask if Liam was okay; he would have smelled his blood if he weren't.

"What?" Liam tilted his head and his hair fall adorably across his face.

Theo sighed. This was beyond stupid. He actually had a crush on someone, on _Liam_. It was strong and undeniable, and all Theo wanted to do was pin him against the wall and kiss him. It was awkward that if he touched Liam he would probably get punched in the face, awkward that he had developed feelings for his former enemy. Hell it was awkward that he even _had_ feelings _._ He hadn't realized what he had been missing until Liam freed him from his hellscape prison. It had never occurred to Theo that the ache that had grown in his chest as his sister ripped his heart out again and again wasn't a physical pain, but an emotional manifestation of...remorse? Regret that he had betrayed her? Sorrow that he had never gotten the chance to live a normal life with normal experiences? Shame that he had destroyed that same opportunity for so many others?

Whatever the fuck it was, it came with stupid high school crushes and _fluttery_ feelings in his stomach whenever Liam smiled...or looked at him...or laughed...or–

"Theo! Could you frickin' pay attention?"

Theo cleared his throat and nodded toward the doors. "They still out there?"

Liam turned his head and focused for a moment before nodding. Theo heard it too – heartbeats. They were trapped.

"Look, I'm not dying for you," Theo said, desperate to banish the image that had formed in his mind of shielding Liam's body with his own. He stepped closer, his eyes catching on Liam's vibrant blue ones. Fuck what he had just said. He would protect Liam at any cost.

"I'm not dying for you either." Liam stepped closer too.

Theo smiled and glanced at Liam's mouth. His full, red lips had drawn into an urgent line, and as his bottom lip dipped beneath his top one, Theo got a sense that maybe he didn't mean what he had said either, that their mouths were saying one thing but their bodies were saying something else entirely.

Theo wanted to let his body do the talking. He wanted to let his lips communicate without words. He wanted to lick Liam's stupid beautiful mouth and claim Liam as his own.

Liam looked away just as Theo was about to make his move. The missed chance would have been frustrating if Liam hadn't had such a handsome profile.

"But I will fight with you." Liam looked back, his features strong and determined, no hint of fear in his scent.

Theo sighed. They had a battle to win. "Okay. Let's fight."

They extended their claws and let their eyes blaze with golden heat as the elevators doors reopened.

Theo growled and charged forward side-by-side with Liam toward the two armed gunman. Theo darted sideways as the hunter in front of him opened fire. He leapt against the wall and bounced off, using for momentum to his advantage as he launched his assault on the hunter. Out of the corner of his eye, Theo saw Liam employing a similar tactic to take down the other hunter.

More shots rang out from further up the hallway, and Theo slid to his knees, evading the gunfire as he made quick work of his next target. Sensing Liam's position behind him, Theo bent forward and braced his back, creating a springboard for Liam to launch his own next assault on the gunman running toward them. By the time Theo was back up, Liam had taken that hunter down and wrenched the gun away from the one behind him. Liam slid around the hunter's legs and Theo dashed forward and kicked their assailant, sending him stumbling over Liam's back.

A thrill surged through Theo as they picked the hunter up together and hurled him away. Was this what it felt like to fight along side a packmate? That wasn't what they were yet, but it felt almost inevitable at this point.

They turned in unison as the sound of a gun being primed clicked from back down the hallway near the elevator. The man raised his weapon to open fire, but before he could Melissa McCall rounded the corner behind him and jabbed a stun rod into his back. As he fell, another hunter sat up, but Nolan darted forward next to Melissa, snatched a fallen rifle from the floor, and knocked the hunter out with the butt of the weapon.

"Get down!" Nolan shouted as he and Melissa took cover.

Theo and Liam turned just as Gabe reappeared and opened fire.

Theo grabbed Liam and shoved him down the hall in front of him, but as they sprinted away a bullet tore through Theo's shoulder and knocked him off his feet. He rolled behind a gurney as he hit the ground, his eyes staying on Liam, who took shelter behind a rolling shelf on the opposite side of the hallway.

As soon as the shooting stopped, Liam sprang up and dashed down the hallway and out of Theo's field of vision.

Liam growled and a shot rang out. For a terrifying moment Theo thought–

More shots erupted and shoes squeaked on the tile floor as Gabe grunted and Liam snarled.

Theo breathed a sigh of relief and crawled forward so he could see what was happening. Liam and Gabe were struggling for control of the rifle.

"I can't get a shot. What do you want me to do?"

Theo didn't recognize the voice, but Monroe's reply through the walkie talkie sent chills down his spine.

"Just shoot him! Shoot both of them!"

Before Theo could stand, before he could warn Liam, Liam head-butted Gabe and knocked him back. An instant later a round of handgun fire pierced the air and Liam was hit in the leg. He crumpled to the ground, but the shots kept coming. Gabe shook and thrashed on his feet as he was hit in the torso with one, two, three – Theo looked away before the fourth bullet hit him.

There was a sharp thud as Nolan crept up behind the unknown gunman and bashed him in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher.

Gabe gasped and collapsed to his knees, then keeled forward onto the blood spattered floor. Theo thought it was over, but Gabe groaned and crawled forward on his belly, panting and dragging a thick track of blood from where he had fallen all the way to the supply cabinet about fifteen feet in front of him. His bloody fingers scrabbled at the glass as he turned himself over and propped himself in a sitting position against the metal and glass door.

Theo struggled to his feet, relieved that Liam was also standing with the help of Melissa.

Gabe coughed up blood and sobbed. "It hurts. It hurts."

Something twinged in Theo's chest, another new feeling, unfamiliar but inexplicably strong. He walked forward, eyeing the blood trail and trying to figure out what he meant to do as Gabe sputtered and repeated in broken gasps how much it hurt.

Theo knew what to do by the time he reached the end of the blood trail and Gabe looked up at him with a scared, agonized expression on his tear- and blood-streaked face. He sobbed and the feeling ached in Theo's chest. Theo knelt in front of Gabe and took his trembling wrist, sliding Gabe's sleeve up with his other hand. He braced himself as Mason's words from the other night rang in his ears.

 _You can_ _'t take pain if you don't care._

Theo was pretty sure that's what the sensation in his chest was – caring. Gabe had tried to kill them. He had shot Theo and Liam and pumped bullets into Scott's home, but as he lay dying on the hospital floor it was obvious, painfully obvious, that he was just a scared teenager trying to protect himself and his town. If Theo had gotten a second chance after everything he had done, didn't Gabe deserve one too? Theo couldn't give him that; he couldn't stop him from dying, but he could stop him from dying in agony. He could ease Gabe's pain and fear.

He squeezed Gabe's wrist and watched in awe as black lines traveled out of Gabe's body and into his own.

Gabe let out a ragged sigh and his muscles relaxed in Theo's grip.

"Does it hurt anymore?" Theo asked, looking into Gabe's eyes.

Gabe shook his head, his breathing unlabored. "No," he whispered.

"Good." Theo held on as Gabe's eyes closed and his body went slack.

He lay Gabe's hand on the ground by his side and took one more look at him as the pain in his own chest flickered and throbbed, but eased just a bit.

When Theo looked up he was met with a room full of mournful eyes. Mason and Corey had arrived at some point; Nolan stood trembling by a medical cart; Melissa watched with grim resignation; and Liam–

"Theo." He hobbled forward on his healing leg, arm outstretched.

Theo took hold of Liam's forearm as soon as it was within reach. A quiet gasp slipped from his lips as Liam pulled him forward and wrapped his arms around him.

The ache in Theo's chest gave way completely, replaced by a warm tingly glow as he rubbed Liam's back and inhaled his scent.

Liam kept one arm around Theo's shoulders as he called Scott to get an update, and just like that they learned that the Anuk-Ite had been defeated and the hunters were retreating as the thrall of fear dissipated and the citizens of Beacon Hills returned to normal.

They didn't speak as they walked back up the hallway to the elevator and Liam's arm brushed against Theo's in a way that obviously wasn't accidental.

Liam pressed the button and the doors slid open, pockmarked but functional. "What you did tonight..."

"Yeah," Theo asked as they stepped on, their arms still touching.

Liam turned to him as the doors closed. Their bodies were no longer pressed together, but Liam was in his personal space. 'The way you've been since you've been back..."

"Yeah?" Theo stepped closer and glanced down at Liam's hand. It was twitching, the palm facing out toward Theo.

"It was..." Liam's hand eased into Theo's and their eyes met. "Good."

Warmth bloomed across Theo's body and he rubbed Liam's knuckles with his thumb. "I don't know what this feeling is."

Liam arched an eyebrow and Theo smirked.

"But it's good too."

Their lips met and Theo didn't think it was possible to feel better than he did in that moment.

 **-000–**

 **End Note:** Feedback is greatly appreciated.


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